Chicago-Area Friends: Halloween Candy Trade-In at Nutphree's Cupcakes -- Last 2 Days!

Hi everyone! I have a timely new message for my Chicagoland readers! (And I apologize, I meant to have this up earlier. I've been light on the posts lately just due to life in general and the fact that I'm revising a book and trying to finish before New Year's. :))

Back to the news: The wonderful Nutphree's Cupcakes (one of my site sponsors) has this to say about all that candy the kids with food allergies may have collected a few days ago but can't eat: 

"We’re happy to be hosting our Trade Your Candy for a Cupcake program again this year. Kids can bring in their well-earned haul from Nov 1 through Nov 7 and take home a FREE cupcake or non-food treat! All candy collected will be sent overseas to deployed soldiers through Operation Gratitude."

Nutphree's is open until 6 pm tomorrow, so if you can, head over there! Check their web site for more info. If you've never been in this bakery, you will be amazed at the beautiful nut-free cupcake and treat selection.

I'm also happy to note that Nutphree's is bringing their cupcakes to several grocery stores in the Chicagoland area, including Whole Foods and  Mariano's.

THANK YOU Nutphree's for being such a caring (and delicious) resource to families dealing with nut allergies. Your baking creations are beautiful works of art and I appreciate all you do!

What if you live elsewhere? If you have a similar buy-back program for Halloween candy in your area or if you have info on nut-free baked goods available near you, we want to know about it, especially with the holidays on the horizon.

Which brings me to my next topic and one I will be covering with a new post next week:

Even before Halloween, I saw a post about nut allergy issues on a local parenting mag web site, so I will be addressing the issue of dealing with holiday, social situations and  nut allergies in the next few days on this blog. 

In the meantime, I've got lots of posts about Thanksgiving and nut allergies. Below you'll find two of the most popular; click the links below to read them. You can find even more articles, including nut-free Thanksgiving recipes, if you use key words in the search bar located in the upper left-hand corner of this site.

Food Allergies Don't Take a Thanksgiving Holiday 

Pumpkin Pie Ingredients: The News on Libby's and Carnation: 

(Regarding this last post: Food labels can change -- at any time! Please always check labels/call companies if you need additional information on allergens.)

And of course, if you haven't already, check out my e-book for encouragement and advice on navigating life with nut allergies.

Unli

Food Allergies and Thanksgiving: Libby's ® Brand Pumpkin and Nestle® Carnation Brand Evaporated Milk

I love to bake my holiday pies with Libby's® brand pumpkin puree.
Read on for the company's nut allergen statement.

Holiday bakers, start your engines! It's pumpkin pie season!  Who's with me? Thanksgiving comes early this year, so I've been gathering seasonal baking ingredients for the annual Turkey Day indulgence.

But wait--what about ingredients? Everyone's favorite pumpkin pie recipe is on the back of the Libby's®  brand pureed pumpkin and it always includes Nestle®  Carnation Evaporated Milk. Since so many of us end up baking our own pumpkin pies for the holidays (including me), it was time for my annual ingredients check-in for these products.

I wanted to share my findings with all of you so we can get on to the fun part: baking pies. Both of these popular seasonal products are made by Nestle; I e-mailed the company last week and got a detailed e-mail response. Here's what Nestle had to say about Libby's Pumpkin and Carnation Evaporated Milk with regard to tree nuts and peanuts (and general food allergen labeling):

Dear Ms. Kales,

Thank you for contacting Libby's® Pumpkin.

Our Nestlé® Carnation Evaporated Milk and Libby's® Pumpkin products do not contain peanuts or tree nuts nor are they at potential for cross contact.

Labeling regulations require that if any of the eight recognized known allergens, such as peanuts and tree nuts, are in the product, they must be listed in the ingredient statement. We always list the allergen by the common name.

Additionally, our factories, that use any of the recognized allergens as an ingredient, take all precautions to avoid cross contact of products that do not contain them. We always add a cautionary statement at the end of our packaging ingredient listing if a product is made on the same line or factory of those products containing a recognized allergen. It is recommended that you always check the label before purchasing a product.

Holiday bakers: Please make a note of the last line of the e-mail above because it is an important one: always check the label before purchasing a product.

For example, while the canned items I contacted Nestle about do not contain nut allergens (see full statement from the company, above), Libby's and Nestle's baking kits that include the pumpkin puree and canned milk, respectively, have nut allergen and other food allergen warnings on the label.

While the canned items are safe and we can use them to make a pie or cake from scratch, it looks like the culprits in these baking kits are the pumpkin bread mix and the pie crust mix, respectively. Avoid the baking kits when baking for people with nut allergies. Note: these kits are extremely well marked for allergens. If you read the label, you'll see the warnings underneath the ingredients list.

This is what the Libby's® Pumpkin Bread Kit looks like. The label on this kit has warnings for nut and other food allergens:

Check each label--even if certain ingredients in a baking kit
might be OK, other components might carry nut allergy warnings.

Click the link for a nut-free pumpkin bread recipe from my blog that uses Libby's brand pumpkin--almost as easy as a kit, and best of all -- no nut allergens to worry about!

The prevalence of allergy warnings on prepared baking kits only reinforces that holiday baking needs to be carefully monitored for anyone with a severe allergy. That's why I volunteer to do so much baking--I know what's in my kitchen and what goes into our food, so we can enjoy our desserts without any concern for cross-contact or allergenic hidden ingredients.

Note: the allergen information given in this post is for these specific brands, only, and refers to peanut and tree nut allergies.  If you have questions about Libby's, Carnation or any other store brands, with regard to their practices or for other allergens, please contact companies directly. It is always up to the consumer to decide if a specific product fits your allergy needs. Thank you!

'Tis the Season to Be Nutty

Five years ago when I discovered that my oldest daughter had a life-threatening nut allergy, I wasn't fully aware of the impact that this diagnosis would have on the holidays. But I should have been. Let's face it — a big part of any holiday is the food. Add nut allergies to the mix and you’ve got a recipe for a stressful situation.

It seems to me that the world becomes increasingly more infatuated with nut-containing recipes starting around Halloween and continuing until after the New Year. Food magazines, TV news segments and newspaper cooking sections are filled with nuts, nuts and more nuts. There appears to be a primal desire to stock up on foods that highlight walnuts, pecans, cashews and almonds, almost like a squirrel stocks up on acorns for the winter.

For example, as I flipped through current issues of my favorite magazines, I found recipes for caramel nut cheesecake, Roquefort salad with walnuts, kugel with pecans, green beans with almonds, broccoli casserole with pecans, pecan pie, peanut butter blossom cookies, bourbon balls with crushed walnuts, candied nuts, pine nut chutney and pecan-laced turkey stuffing. Also, a homemade front-door holiday wreath devised of walnut shells.

Yes, nuts are everywhere you look this time of year (that's not even including our nearest and dearest) and as the walnut wreath proves, sometimes tree nuts greet you at the door even before the hosts do.

Because of the recipes and nutty crafts floating around, holiday parties and dinners pose major challenges to the nut-allergic. Unfortunately those two warhorses of holiday entertaining — buffets and potlucks — can be a health hazard. Standard buffet fare such as complicated casseroles with 20 ingredients or cookie recipes with crushed pecans are off-limits. Sometimes the food doesn't even have to contain nuts but has come into contact with them. If we don't know for sure about a particular food, our daughter doesn't get to eat it, so often she doesn't get to partake of holiday treats made outside of our home.

Food isn't the only thing that's dicey about holiday dining with nut allergies. Since food is so deeply rooted in tradition and emotion, the potential to either offend or be offended during what I’ve come to view as “the nutty season” is endless. It’s almost inevitable that a nut-allergic family will encounter a friend or relative who just doesn’t believe that food allergies are real or who are certain that "just one bite" of their treasured recipe won't hurt, when in fact, it could. People who wouldn’t dream of questioning a child’s diabetes or asthma diagnosis may peg you as a “nut” for asking about every ingredient in a dish, or label your child as "picky" if you are obliged to bring them a separate meal for safety's sake.

For the most part, my family is able to focus on the fun aspects of holiday celebrations and not the food gaffes. We've been fortunate to have a lot of support from family members and friends. Plus, my husband and I enjoy entertaining at our home, which helps eliminate the need for others to concern themselves with the menu. When we do attend a holiday party, I'm always willing to whip up a nut-free side dish or decorated cupcakes.

Perhaps because an individual with food allergies is denied so many treats at this time of year, food allergies teach you how to appreciate the most important things in life. Family, friends and the good fortune to be eating a delicious dinner at all come to mind. Plus, my entire family has discovered newfound compassion for others due to our own struggles with a medical condition that affects every aspect of our lives.

Despite the fact that we sometimes feels as if "Life is a bowl of cashews," it's wonderful to be present at the table with those we love most. And even though my family has to be more cautious about what foods we place on that on that table, "the nutty season" is worth it.